Howard Metzenbaum
Howard Morton Metzenbaum (June 4, 1917 – March 12, 2008) was an American politician and businessman who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Ohio (1974, 1976–1995). He also served in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate from 1943 to 1951.
Howard Metzenbaum
Early life and education[edit]
Metzenbaum was born June 4, 1917, in Cleveland, Ohio, to a poor family, the son of Anna (née Klafter) and Charles I. Metzenbaum.[1] His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and France, and his maternal grandparents were Hungarian Jews.[2] He attended Glenville High School, where he ran track, while also working odd jobs after hours.[1] He graduated from Ohio State University, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1939 and a law degree in 1941.[3] During the 1940s, he practiced law in Cleveland. After initially facing discrimination due to his Jewish heritage, he found acceptance representing large labor unions, first with the Communications Workers of America and later the International Association of Machinists.[4]
Business career[edit]
Metzenbaum became independently wealthy through investments, particularly in real estate near what became the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which Metzenbaum and his partner, Alva "Ted" Bonda, correctly envisioned would make for extremely profitable, 24-hour, well-lit parking lots. The business expanded to become Airport Parking Company of America (APCOA), the world's largest parking lot company.[5] By 1970, he had sold his interest in APCOA Parking for US$20 million.[6]
In the early 1970s, Metzenbaum also co-owned the Sun Newspapers chain of weeklies which covered the Cleveland suburbs, a venture undertaken after his first senatorial election defeat.[7]
Political career[edit]
Ohio legislature[edit]
Metzenbaum served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1943 to 1947. He then served in the Ohio Senate from 1947 to 1951.[4]
In 1958, he served as the campaign manager for future U.S. Senator Stephen M. Young, who, in a major upset, narrowly unseated incumbent Senator John Bricker, the Republican Party's 1944 vice presidential nominee. He returned to assist Young in his successful reelection campaign in 1964.[4]
Cleveland Stokers[edit]
In January 1968 Metzenbaum and Bonda purchased the Cleveland Stokers soccer club from Cleveland Indians executives Vernon Stouffer and Gabe Paul. Under their leadership, the team played one year in the North American Soccer League, and even won their division, before departing the league due to differences in business philosophy with the other owners.
Retirement[edit]
After leaving the Senate in 1995, Metzenbaum served as the chairman of the Consumer Federation of America. He died at his home in Aventura, Florida on March 12, 2008.[20] He was buried at Mayfield Cemetery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.[21]
Denying urban legends to the contrary, Metzenbaum said he was never affiliated with the Communist Party.[22] When the National Republican Senatorial Committee suggested in 1987 that he had "Communist sympathies", Chairman Rudy Boschwitz apologized for the smear.[23]
Metzenbaum's cousin James Metzenbaum was an Ohio attorney who wrote a text on zoning law and once ran for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.
Personal life[edit]
Metzenbaum married Shirley Louise Turoff (1923–2019) on 8 August 1946. They had four daughters : Barbara, Susan, Shelley, and Amy. Susan married Joel Hyatt.